Khlong Phanom National Park in Southern Thailand

Khlong Phanom National Park is tucked between Khao Sok National Park Headquarters and Cheow Lan Reservoir. This park receives almost no foreign visitors. In fact, on our initial survey trip, they didn't really know what to do with us. Foreigners are supposed to pay a higher park entrance fee than locals, but they didn't know if they should charge us or not. We asked them to charge us as we love supporting Thailand's national parks.

Khlong Sok (Sok River)

The Sok River meanders through verdant valleys as it courses its way across the region. Many birds inhabit the river area. Black-capped Kingfishers, White-throated Kingfishers, Common Kingfishers, Chinese Pond Herons, Little Herons, Indian Rollers, Oriental Magpie-Robins, Little Spiderhunters, Grey Wagtails, Yellow Wagtails, Stripe-throated Bulbuls, Yellow-vented Bulbuls and lots of Vernal Hanging Parrots were encountered on our survey trip. There are certainly more birds than this in the area. We also saw a Long-tailed Macaque (monkey) on the cliffs and we heard White-handed Gibbons in the background. We saw some gibbons when we walked up a mountain behind the bungalows in Khlong Phanom National Park.

The river is runnable for six months of the year. The season starts around August and ends in January.

The following photos were from our river kayaking survey trip in October 2005. The photos are in sequential order. The river starts out in flat farmland, then goes through some secondary jungle and finally flows past towering limestone cliffs.

If you are looking for a river kayaking trip that is extremely scenic and very easy, this is your opportunity. This can be a stand-alone trip or an add-on to our Khao Sok National Park trip.

Contact us for details and options.

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